Acts 8:15-16 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.

Non-Pentecostals have a lot of trouble with this passage, and try all sorts of interpretations to wiggle out of it. However, the language is quite plain and unvarnished. In this case, clearly the Holy Spirit “coming upon” them was subsequent to their salvation. That’s not to say that’s normative, but it is certainly to say that it’s not unusual. They already had the Holy Spirit, because “no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit,” (1 Corinthians 12:3) and declaring Jesus to be Lord is essential for salvation. (Romans 10:9-10) However, it is clear from 2000 years of Church History that it is all too possible to be saved and yet not be operating in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The big problem comes when people start applying various “litmus tests” to determine whether the Holy Spirit has “come upon” someone. The most frequent test is the gift of tongues, but that’s not what Jesus said. He said it was power to be His witness. (Acts 1:8) We need to get past our cliques and our pride and agree that every believer needs the power of the Holy Spirit to live as Christ’s representative.

My own baptism in the Holy Spirit was delayed precisely because I was seeking the gift of tongues ahead of the Spirit Himself. Once I got that misconception out of the way, I was filled with joy and boldness as a witness. Later I did receive assorted gifts, and can say that I have operated in each one mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 at least once. However, if we put the gift ahead of the Giver, we’re in trouble all the way around. As a pastor in Japan, it has troubled me that so few Japanese believers seem to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I feel it has a lot to do with what a Japanese pastor said to me recently about Japanese not being spiritually hungry. He was talking about miracles, but it applies in every area of our walk with God. We have to be open to receive! Also, I know from experience that the more we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us in various ways, the more He will be able to do so. It’s like running hot water through a vinyl hose: if you increase the pressure and the flow, the hose is going to expand, allowing greater and greater flow. In that particular illustration the hose will eventually rupture, but we don’t have that worry with the Holy Spirit! I am not to neglect the gifts that have been placed in me, (1 Timothy 4:14) and I am to encourage the believers to do likewise. I know that after I received the gift of tongues, when I stopped exercising it in my private devotions, it was like I dried up spiritually. I don’t want that for me or for any of the believers!

Father, this is territory in which I haven’t been very active in this church. Thank You for giving me this strong nudge to get me moving. I pray that I would be fully sensitive and obedient to You in following through, not operating in my own imagination but saying and doing what You desire and intend, so that this church may be and do exactly what You want, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!